‘Ghost in the Shell’ Casting of Scarlett Johansson as Maj. Matoko Kusanagi Sparks Debate

Ghost in the Shell, Disney's Touchstone Pictures and Dreamworks' live-action feature film adaptation of Masamune Shirow's manga of the same name has been scheduled for release to theaters beginning April 14, 2017. Rupert Sanders (best known for his work on Snow White and the Huntsman) would be directing based on a screenplay to be written by William Wheeler. Acting as producers will be Avi Arad, Seaside Entertainment's Steven Paul, and Mark Sourian. According to Variety, Scarlett Johansson has signed on to star in the film as Major Motoko Kusanagi, the head of the counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9.

Johansson's casting as a Japanese character, albeit one with an entirely artificial cyborg body, has generated some debate in the social media. Die-hard fans of the original manga series, which serialized beginning 1989, believe that the studios should have remained true to the Japanese roots in the movie adaptation. In fact, there is now an online petition at the Care2Petitions website asking Dreamworks to reconsider its decision. Part of that petition reads: "As moviegoers and fans of the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell film, we respectfully request that you cast an actor of Asian descent for the lead role of Motoko Kusanagi rather than Scarlett Johansson. The American film industry is already unfriendly to Asian actors without roles in major films being changed to exclude them."

At the other side of the debate, there are those who contend that ethnicity is irrelevant since the character in question is just inside a discard-able prosthetic shell, hence the title "Ghost in the Shell." In fact, in the original manga and anime series, Matoko is often illustrated as a young adult with distinctly Caucasian features. Christopher M. at Forces of Geek even pointed out that the Major's shell does have blue eyes in the original anime film. Also, given Johansson's proven drawing power at the global box office, there's likely very little chance that she will be replaced as the Ghost in the Shell.